A deeper look at cosmetics and their ingredients from an industry insider's point of view.

maanantai 25. heinäkuuta 2011

The ingredients behind the stuff

Before I can start talking about individual cosmetic ingredients, it is important to talk about the system that goes behind the INCI-list first.

INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients.

The first item on the list is always the one that is present the most in the product. Almost always this is water (aqua).Shower gels and shampoos for example can contain a very high percentage of water.

Anhydrous products however, like pressed powders and most lipsticks, will contain no water.

The INCI list is always arranged so that the ingredients are in descending order.But after concentrations of less than 1%, the ingredients can be arranged in any order. Most cosmetic companies use this to their advantage, placing the active ingredients that can be present at very low levels higher up the ingredient list. Thereby tricking the consumer into thinking that the wonderful miracle ingredient is present at a high concentration in the product. In reality some ingredients that are used in the product claims can be in a product at concentrations of even less than 0.01%.

So lets take some very well-known products and deconstruct their INCI list:

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream Skin Protectant

Petrolatum- The common name for petrolatum is petroleum jelly (Vaseline).This is a petrochemical product, and is not sourced sustainably. Function: emollient, antistatic agent.

This is a very simple one phase formulation, that basically comprises of mineral oil, petroleum jelly and lanolin. The rest of the ingredients must be present at very low levels in the formulation, since a high level of Salicylic acid would alter the pH. Also, the maximum legally allowed concentration of propylparaben is 0.4%, so therefore the ingredients below propylparaben have to all be less than 1%.

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radiant Touch

Aqua - Water.

Cyclomethicone – A volatile silicone. This gives the product great skin-feel and also evaporates, making the formulation dry quicker on the skin. Cyclomethicone is controversial in the industry because it is not environmentally safe. Many greener companies do not use it all, but because of its incredible skin-feel it is unlikely that it will ever completely leave cosmetics. Function: emollient, solvent, viscosity controlling agent.

Glycerin – This helps the formulation from drying out in the pen. Function: humectant.

Talc – This is the main ingredient in most pressed powders. It gives the formulation coverage and bulk. Function: opacifying, bulking.

Methicone – This is another silicone, but one with less negative environmental issues than Cyclomethicone. This is also used in many formulations to give excellent skin-feel and spreadability. Function: emollient.